Miracle
by FirePiskie123
Summary: This is a story where eight year old Harry Potter wishes desperately for an escape from his abusive family and finds out that maybe, miracles can happen. *Warning - non-descriptive mentions of abuse* *Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter*
1. Chapter 1

"No Uncle, please, I beg you, no!" cried eight year old Harry Potter as his Uncle towered over him in a fit of rage, raining blow after blow upon the poor child.

"Silence freak!" bellowed the man. "How dare you use that- that freakishness at your school? You will be punished for this!"

For the next half an hour, little Harry Potter hoped and prayed for an escape, for someone to rescue him, someone who cared.

But no one was coming. They hadn't done so in seven years.

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It was late at night when a faint golden glow appeared in the cupboard of number four, Privet Drive. It danced in the darkness, swirling delicately around the tiny sleeping form that lay on the worn down mattress. Carefully it lifted the child until he was hovering in mid-air. Then all of a sudden there was a brilliant flash of white, so bright it pierced the cracks in the walls and leaked out into the hallway.

The next second, as quickly as the flash had come, there was nothing but darkness. And in that darkness was nothing but an empty mattress and a few broken toys.

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Harry opened his eyes, adjusting to the warm sunlight surrounding him. Where on earth was he? He rubbed his eyes and to his astonishment, his glasses were gone. But wait, he didn't need them! He tentatively felt the rest of his body and to his astonishment, he didn't hurt! He felt all over, and didn't feel pain at all, apart from a very dull ache that he didn't really count as pain. It was astonishing!

"I must be dreaming" he said to himself as he looked at his surroundings. It was a beautiful place where he would love to stay, but he hoped he didn't oversleep and make his Uncle mad. There was a warm green forest in front of him, with tall trees and beautiful plants. He realised he was sat on a beach (wow!) with soft sand and luscious waves lapping at the shore. The sunlight made the sea sparkle beautifully. Beyond the forest he could see hills and mountains, goodness knows how tall.

He stood up slowly, stretching the achiness out of his muscles. His pyjamas were still the same, old and tattered. This in Harry's mind proved he must be dreaming. "Never mind" he thought sadly. "At least I can stay here for a little while". After looking either side of him and seeing only more beaches in the distance, he decided to enter the forest. It was strange, most forests sounded scary but this one looked warm and inviting.

Harry was right. Once he entered the forest, he felt a change in the wind. Golden light seemed to swirl through the trees, breathing life into the surroundings and enchanting the eye. The plants swayed in the breeze, stretching up to the sky in a wonderful variety of colours. There were tiny insects burrowing in the trees, and the grass tickled Harry's feet as he walked. It was a fascinating place.

After some more exploring, Harry came across a clearing which housed a tall, golden archway. There were intricate patterns and curves along its edge, and it sparkled magnificently.

Out of nowhere, a voice spoke.

"Who are you?"

Harry jumped nervously. Was there someone watching him? He looked around frantically but couldn't see anything. After a moment, he calmed down. This was his dream, right? Nothing would do any damage to him.

"I'm Harry Potter" he answered timidly.

"Place your hand on this archway, Harry Potter" said the voice. "Then I shall know if you are who you say you are".

The young boy debated whether to do as the voice told him, but after a minute decided he might as well try. He placed his palm on the smooth edge of the archway, and watched with fascination as he felt it hum gently.

"Harry Potter, you are who you say you are" said the voice kindly. "Welcome home."

"Wait, wha-

He was cut off abruptly as the previously empty archway shimmered, revealing a golden gate. The gate swung open, allowing Harry access to the path beyond.

Before he had time to think, a small creature with bat-like ears and bulging bright blue eyes appeared with a pop before him.

"Wh- wh- who are you?" he stammered nervously.

"I sir, is Acer the house elf!" said the creature. "Welcome home Mr Harry Potter sir!"

"Sorry sir, but you must be mistaken" said Harry. "I'm in a dream, and when I wake up I have to feed my family and do my chores".

"Oh no Mr Harry Potter sir, you shall not see those people again" said Acer with a grimace. "They is bad sir, very bad, and shan't mistreat Harry Potter anymore!"

"Wait, you mean this place is real?" said Harry astonishingly.

"Yes of course sir, we is in Scotland, not far from Hogwarts" said Acer.

"Sorry, what's Hogwarts?" asked Harry curiously.

"Mr Harry Potter sir does not know about Hogwarts!" said Acer shockingly. "Come inside sir, Acer will tell you everything!"

"But I can't go into someone else's house, the adults will be mad and might hurt me" Harry said with a frown.

"No sir, this entire place was owned by Master James and Miss Lily, your mother and father! Since they is gone now (he said with a small sniffle) it belongs to you".

"I – I own a house?" said Harry faintly.

"Yes sir, and this forest area too. Now come inside sir, don't be afraid! There is no adults here, just me and two other house elves. They are Memphis and Adelia. We will take care of you Mr Harry Potter sir, and you shall live here now. This shall be your home."

Still not quite daring to believe it was real, Harry allowed the elf to lead him up the path to a beautiful looking building.

Maybe dreams could come true after all.


	2. Chapter 2

It was late at night when Albus Dumbledore was alerted to the sound of sirens going off. He ran (as quickly as an old man could) out of his chambers and into his office, only for his heart to drop to his stomach.

The green crystals that sat on his desk were glowing deep blood red, which could mean only one thing.

Harry's wards were down.

When a team of Hogwarts staff and aurors arrived at Privet Drive thirty minutes later, Albus Dumbledore in the lead, they uncovered some rather awful secrets. The aurors who had searched the house returned to the front lawn, saying the only trace of Harry was bloodstains in the cupboard under the stairs where there was a mattress and a coloured in piece of paper saying "Harry's room".

Amelia Bones, head of the DMLE, gave Severus Snape permission to use legilimency on Vernon Dursley, and what he saw made him want to empty his stomach rather violently. Upon his return from the living room, he was only able to utter one word "abuse" before he threw up in the flowerbeds.

"Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Albus Dumbledore" said Amelia calmly, though her face was contorted with rage, "I am going to have to place several rather complicated wards around this house to prevent the escape of the muggles, and to allow a proper investigation to take place. While these wards are in place, the ministry will not be able to detect a single spell said inside the house. Now, would you please remain inside and observe the muggles while my aurors go about their business out here?"

She smiled at the three, who nodded in understanding. Severus, who was shaking, could feel the magic sparking around Albus, and strangely enough could feel Minerva's too. He would have to make sure he never made that woman angry.

Amelia Bones turned her back on the house as the three professors headed inside.

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Harry allowed Acer to lead him by the hand up the winding path that led to the beautiful house. He noticed a handmade sign on the door saying "Bowers Cottage" and he didn't know what but something about it made him smile. The elf opened the door with a click of his fingers and led the young boy inside.

The entrance hallway was warm and inviting, with many interesting paintings on the walls and a fluffy cream carpet at their feet. A grand wooden staircase descended in the middle of the room, splitting off into two further staircases which moved when directed to do so. The oak floor was polished neatly and contrasted well with the cream on the walls. Harry inhaled and caught the smell of bread baking in the distance.

"Follow me Mr Harry Potter sir" said Acer. "I is taking you to meet Memphis and Adelia".

The young boy only nodded in reply, half listening and half taking in his surroundings.

"Acer, are you sure there aren't any adults here?" squeaked Harry nervously. "I really don't want to get in to trouble, and it looks well looked after here, someone must live here!"

"No sir, only we house elves live here. We is to tidy and clean and keep the place sparkling".

"Okay then" said Harry, relaxing a little. "But you don't have to call me sir, as I get to call you your name. Just call me Harry"

"But Master Harry Potter sir, are you sure?" said Acer. "You is our Master now"

"I'm sure" said Harry a little more confidently. "Just Harry"

"Okay then, Just Harry" said Acer, causing Harry to laugh. "We are at the kitchen now. Come and meet the others".

He opened the door with another click, to reveal two younger looking elves bustling around the kitchen. One was at the oven, taking freshly cooked rolls out of the oven, and the other was at one of the worktops cleaning.

"Memphis, Adelia, I have found Master Harry, who wishes to be called just Harry" said Acer. The two elves looked up and cracked wide smiles.

"Hello just Harry!" said the first elf enthusiastically. "My name is Memphis and I is here to help you with everything!"

"H-hi" stammered Harry.

"Forgive my twin" said the second elf, in a feminine voice. "He is very bubbly. I is Adelia, and I and Acer and Memphis shall help you with anything you be needing".

"Wow, thank you" said Harry. He couldn't help but feel awed that there were three house elves wanting to help him. Surely this was a dream?

"Would you like some bread rolls or some soup or anything else?" asked Memphis, pointing to the table. Harry stared at it in wonder, never having had so much food offered to him before. This was probably more than he had had in his entire life!

"I can't take this" said Harry sadly.

"Why not sir?" asked Memphis, his ears drooping sadly. "Is it not what sir likes? I can make different things for you!"

"No it looks wonderful Memphis, the best food I've ever seen" said Harry reassuringly, "but I'm not allowed to eat off other people's tables. Freaks aren't allowed food".

"Harry Potter sir, you is not a freak!" cried Adelia indignantly. "This is your house, and you own all this. It is your food and you can eat whatever you want and play and have fun and be a little boy!"

Harry had tears in his eyes as he looked at the elf. "Are you sure?" he whispered.

"I is very sure" said Adelia, puffing her chest out.

The little boy grinned and pulled all three elves into a hug.

"Thank you all" he said happily. They looked at each other and smiled with happiness.

"Now, first things first just Harry" said Acer. "You shall eat whatever you like; then we shall explore the house and play!"

Harry grinned wildly and sat himself down at the table for the first time in his life.

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Severus Snape sat in his study at Hogwarts, nursing a rather large bottle of Odgen's Firewhisky. He had just had an atrocious twelve hours. Dumbledore had called in the middle of the night, to drag a team of witches and wizards to the Potter boy's residence, only to discover him missing. Then it was up to Severus to legilimens the oaf of a man to find out what might've happened.

Needless to say, he was quite disturbed.

The images running through his head reminded him terribly of his own childhood. He had to put up his strongest occlumency shields and indulge in alcohol to forget those memories.

He couldn't help but wonder where the Potter boy was. It seemed that the wards had fallen because the boy's life was in terrible danger, probably due to organ failure, but now he was nowhere to be found. With the state he had last been in, judging from the bulging man's memories, he had been in no good health to run away, and the Dursley's certainly hadn't murdered him, even if they'd come close to it. So where was he?

The wizarding world was currently in uproar. Severus had returned to Hogwarts after depositing Dursley's memories in a pensieve, but Dumbledore was still at the Ministry, in meetings with Amelia Bones and Minister Fudge, to assemble search parties. The daily prophet was having a field day. The ministry was being flooded with questions about the connections to the muggle world, and the laws in place to protect children. People had come up with all sorts of conspiracies about the Potter's will and who should've been guardian. Severus himself was beginning to suspect that there had been a cover up.

As he polished off the bottle, he thought back to the months before Lily's death where she had forgiven him, and he and the Marauder's established a truce. Lily had begged Severus to protect Harry, and gave him information which could help protect the boy if ever there was a need….

…. the cottage. Severus bolted upright, before promptly falling back down again. It seemed that a whole bottle of Firewhisky was a bit much. Cursing himself for his idiocy, he quickly summoned his outer robes followed by a quick potion before walking out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Are you sure I can?" whispered Harry.

"Of course you can just Harry, it's your pool after all!" said Acer excitedly.

Harry laughed at his little joke before lowering himself into the gorgeously warmed swimming pool. The elves had thoroughly made sure he was medically safe to swim before allowing him in. They watched with delight as the young boy floated happily, levitating charms stopping him from falling under the surface. He grabbed onto a nearby water ring and after a bit of a struggle managed to sit himself down, letting his toes stroke the water.

"This is wonderful Acer" said Adelia, smiling.

"I know Adelia, its wonderful" said Acer. Suddenly, he felt a shift in the air around him, and knew someone was at the gate. The elf knew that no one could stumble across it, as there were extensive wards right down to the beaches and the surrounding forests. He knew for a fact that while Dumbledore knew of the place, he didn't know its location. Sirius Black was in jail, leaving one of two people to be just outside.

"Master Harry" called Acer, forgetting the young boy's preferred title, "there is someone at the gate. No need to panic, I will see who they be, but I suggest you be heading inside now".

Harry nodded, slightly sadly, and with a quick spell from Adelia the ring which Harry sat on came floating right up to the pool edge, allowing Harry to step right into the white fluffy towel that Memphis had waiting.

Acer waited patiently until the two elves and Harry had gone inside before heading to the gate. He was almost certain it was one of two, but if it was an intruder, he would defend young Harry by any means necessary.

"Who are you?" he asked, the voice leaking out through the wards and to the waiting visitor.

"My name is Severus Snape, potions master at Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry. I wish to be let in to enquire about the whereabouts of a young boy".

"Place your hand on this archway, Severus Snape. Then I shall know if you are who you say you are" replied Acer.

The man complied, and moments later the wards turned a pale blue on the elf's side, revealing that Severus Snape was the man's true identity.

"Severus Snape, you are who you say you are" said Acer. "Welcome to Bowers Cottage". With a click of his fingers, the gates swung open and in strode the formidable potions master.

"I am here because last night, eight year old Harry Potter disappeared from his home. The wizarding world believes him to have been murdered or kidnapped. However, after more alcohol than I care to admit, I remembered Lily and James informing me of a privately owned cottage that was to be used in emergencies. I believe that only Mr and Mrs Potter, I, Mr Lupin and Mr Black knew its exact location. Now, I also remember the emergency protocols should any of the aforementioned or Harry himself be in life threatening danger. Is he here, Acer?"

Acer was surprised the man remembered his name, as he only visited the cottage once. After a minute of thinking, he decided to answer truthfully.

"Yes sir" said the elf. "Master Harry is here. We elves be taking care of him".

"I need to see the boy" said Severus bluntly. "I understand he would have been healed by the wards, however I would like to speak with him".

"Are you going to take him from this house sir?" said Acer, a little cautiously. "Master Harry is terrified of all adults, and does not know everything yet."

"Forgive me, I did not mean to imply such a thing. I know he must be very scared but he needs to slowly readjust to the world. He cannot hide here forever".

Acer knew there was truth in the potion master's words and he knew Harry should meet people who would be involved in his future.

"Alright sir" he said, nodding his head in agreement. "I will take you to meet Master Potter".

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Minerva McGonagall sat in the headmaster's office, tears running down her face. It was the following afternoon since they had discovered the truth about Harry's life, and she was taking a large portion of guilt upon herself.

"Albus, I should never have let you put him with those muggles" she said quietly. "I should've fought you more about it; I said they were the worst kind of muggles and now look what happened".

"Minerva my dear, the blame lies solely with me, for it was I who insisted that Harry be placed there" said Albus gravely. "My only thought was that Voldemort and his death eaters would never be able to reach Harry there. I never realised there would be a threat inside the home".

A single tear rolled down his cheek and for the remainder of the afternoon the two sat consoling each other.

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"Master Harry?" called Acer from the hallway. "There is someone here to meet you!"

The young boy came running out of the living room, dressed in fresh clothes, and froze abruptly when he saw Severus.

"Who…. Who are you?" he stammered nervously.

"My name is Severus Snape" replied the potions master. "I have come to visit you. Would it be okay if I came inside?" he felt foolish for talking in such a way to a young child but there wasn't a lot of choice when it came to gaining his trust.

"O-okay" said Harry. "But b-be warned, I have three house elves and they can do something called m-magic!"

Severus merely inclined his head at the boy's words, but inside he was, not smiling, but 'amused' at his naivety. Did he not realise that Severus had not batted an eyelid at the sight of a house elf? Chuckling under his breath, he followed the elf and Mr Potter into a nearby room, reading to do a lot of explaining.


	4. Chapter 4

"Eight years ago, your mother and father lived in Godric's Hollow with you. You were very happy together. Your parents were magical, Po- Harry. There are witches and wizards in this world, although not quite like the ones in muggle fairy tale stories. You are a wizard too".

Harry was shocked. He was a wizard? It didn't seem possible! He couldn't do anything special…. Could he?

"Your parents decided that in order to protect you as best they could, they would put a charm on the house called the Fidelius, which would hide the house and the three of you from the bad wizard called Voldemort who was targeting them. The wizarding world was at war at the time, and they wanted to keep you safe. But they were betrayed, by someone who they thought was their friend and so Voldemort found your house. He killed your parents, and tried to kill you too, but the curse rebounded upon him and his body was destroyed. Some say he is still alive out there, however for now, that remains a myth only."

There was a long, drawn out silence before Harry spoke up.

"Did they love me?"

Severus, despite his calm composure, actually shifted with surprise at the statement. Did two parents love their child? How low was this boy's self-esteem that he had to question it?

"What would prompt you to say such a thing Mr Potter? Your parents loved you dearly".

"Well sir, it's just my aunt said that they died in a car crash and that they burdened other people with me and that they were good for nothing-

"Master Harry Potter sir, that is enough bad talk of Master Potter and Miss Potter!" said Acer boldly. The little elf didn't want to hear ill-talk of his previous masters, but was also slightly concerned about the look on Severus' face. Harry seemed to have noticed it too, for he shrank back nervously.

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to upset you, I –

"You did not upset me Harry, I am not mad at you" said Severus, taking extreme care to sound neutral. "Neither am I ever going to hurt you in any way. I wonder if it would be possible for you to leave the lounge a second while I speak with Acer. Forgive me, I know I am the guest here and this is your house, but I need a private word".

"Oh, okay, sure I'll go into the playroom" said Harry, nodding his head. It pleased Severus a little to see that at least the elves had slowly began undoing the wrongs the boy had faced, and that he wasn't afraid of something he was denied all his life. He watched him and the other two elves leave the room, before whipping his wand out.

Acer, who had already anticipated the potion masters actions, stood covered by a shining blue shield charm.

"I give you ten minutes sir" said the elf. "I can mend anything you break, so go ahead".

Severus began letting out his rage on everything in the living room. He even repaired a few vases just so he could re-smash them.

By the end of the ten minutes, he felt significantly calmer. Acer however, had a lot of work to do.

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Remus Lupin had never felt so hopeless in his entire life. He was sat on the floor of Albus Dumbledore's office, although 'sprawled' was probably a better word for it. It was early in the evening and five minutes ago he had received his copy of the Evening Prophet, dropping his coffee mug on the floor when he read the headline:

"Harry Potter, the boy who lived; beaten, bruised and nowhere to be found".

Immediately he had thrown himself into the floo and arrived at Dumbledore's office, still clutching the newspaper.

"Albus….. Is it true?" he whispered.

"I'm afraid so, Remus" said Dumbledore sadly.

Remus had then sank to his knees, tears streaming down his face. All of his friends were gone, and now he had lost the only link he had left to James and Lily…. Oh how he had let them down.

"Minerva my dear, I think it would be best if you left us alone for a while" said Dumbledore quietly. "Time is getting on, and soon it will be time for the staff meeting. If you don't mind, could you see everything is sorted? I think I will be here a while".

"Certainly Albus" replied the witch, giving Remus a sad smile. Moments later, it was just the two wizards left in the headmaster's office.

"Remus" said Dumbledore gently, putting one hand on the other man's shoulder "come and sit down. It will do you no good to be led on my office floor all evening".

Shaking heavily, Remus dragged himself into one of the more comfy chairs.

"When did you find out?" he asked.

"Late last night" said Dumbledore. "The crystals alerted me that the wards around Privet Drive had fallen, and soon after a team arrived at the scene to discover only a few traces of blood, in the cupboard under the stairs. Severus used legilimency on Vernon Dursley and discovered the family had been abusing the boy ever since he arrived there seven years ago".

Dumbledore couldn't help but choke on his words. It was his fault the poor boy had been through such tragedy.

"Why did the wards fall?" said Remus curiously, still trying not to cry.

"An external source of magic activated within the house around an hour before we arrived, and as it did, Harry disappeared."

"You think that wizards did this?" said Remus, astonished. That could mean Harry was alive…. but nowhere to be found.

"Quite possibly" said Dumbledore. "Or it could be a magic I do not know of. I remember Lily speaking with me about a few secret locations that she and James owned, to be used in emergencies, but she never told me the location".

"I know them" said Remus. "But they're all extensively warded. There's something Severus never told you, Albus. A week after Severus turned spy for the light, he went to James and Lily and begged their forgiveness and asked for a truce between us all. He refused to tell us why, but he showed us in a pensieve the memory of him turning spy for the light. It took a little convincing on James and Sirius' part, but eventually he managed to make amends."

Dumbledore motioned for Remus to continue, but inside his mind was reeling. Severus had made amends with the marauders and didn't say anything? He knew where the boy could be perhaps?

"Now, James and Lily owned three additional houses as well as Godric's Hollow, but no one else knew of them. They decided not to tell Peter their locations as they thought he would be too easy to crack if he was captured by death eaters. But they showed myself, Severus and Sirius the locations and keyed us in to the wards, not all of which were 'light'. Lily was an extremely protective mother after all. The point is Albus, there's a chance that Harry might be alive, and might be at one of the homes".

"Well then my boy, you must go" exclaimed Albus. "Find him and make sure he's alright".

Remus nodded enthusiastically, the prospect of seeing Harry enough to make him leave behind his sombre mood, and stepped into the fire, wordlessly saying the first location. There was a flash of green fire, and he was gone.

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Harry sat in his playroom with Memphis and Adelia, laughing as they played a muggle game of twister, when suddenly there was an almighty crash in the living room.

"What on earth…?" he wondered. Discarding his game, he wandered across the hallway, opened the living room door and froze, terrified at the sight of a destroyed living room, one livid Severus Snape and a highly confused stranger who Harry did not know.

With nothing else for it, he ran.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Harry didn't know where he was going, or what he was doing, all he knew was that he had to get away from the adults, or they were going to hurt him! Panic set into him, and tears stung his eyes. Oh they were going to be so mad if they found him! And what about Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon?! He had been gone about 18 hours now; they would be ready to kill him!

Rain began to fall from the sky, but Harry barely noticed his soaked skin. He was lucky it was May, for it was early evening but the sun was only just beginning to set. It would be dark soon he realised. Clenching his teeth to stop them chattering, he continued to run, aiming to get as far away from everyone and everything as possible.

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"Lupin, you stupid, idiotic fool!" yelled Snape angrily.

"Me!" he cried indignantly. "You're the one who destroyed Harry's living room!"

"Why did you have to come barging in unannounced?!" yelled Snape. "Harry was probably terrified!"

"Yes, although the more likely option of what terrified him was you destroying part of his house!" yelled Remus.

"Enough!" said Acer, snapping his fingers. Both men looked at the elf, annoyed, as they realised he had used a silencing charm.

"Now, here is what you sirs must do" said Acer. "I will find Master Harry Potter, and you shall stay here. Then I bring him back, and you two be explaining yourselves. Understood?"

The two men nodded, still looking annoyed. Acer realised that had these men been anyone else but old friends of Master James and Miss Lily, the elf would be in a lot of pain right now for speaking in such a manner, but he felt safe enough.

With a sharp snap of his fingers, Acer called on the magic that connected him to his Master, and with a pop disappeared.

Moments later, he landed two feet away from Harry, who had let out a yell at the sudden appearance of the elf.

"Master Harry, you need to calm down!" said Acer through the rain. "Come back to the house!"

"I- I can't, that man he- he'll kill me- a- and they both loo-k angry" said Harry through chattering teeth.

"No sir, that be a misunderstanding!" said Acer. "Master Lupin came at the wrong moment, and Master Snape was angry so he be letting out his anger safely! He didn't want to make you scared so he did it when you weren't there!"

"But if he- he's an-g-gry then he'll hurt me" said Harry sadly.

"No sir, remember what Master Snape said?" prompted the elf. Harry shook his head, so the elf continued. "He said he would never hurt you in any way".

Harry's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly, so Acer decided he was okay to return. "Master Harry, hold my hand" he said gently. "I be taking you back now".

The young boy complied, and moments later the pair were gone. The rain continued to pound down, and darkness had almost completely set in. Neither of them noticed that Harry had made it out of the archway. Neither did they notice the figure lurking in the shadows nearby.

"Harry I'm terribly sorry" said Severus a while later. It was around 9 p.m. when the elf had returned with the young boy, and after he had had a hot bath and a clean set of clothes, Acer had led him gently by the hand into the living room which had been returned to its original state. There was a comfortable heat coming from the fireplace, but Harry sat on the edge of the chair nearest the door, shaking.

"First things first, would you like a calming draught? It's a potion which will make you feel relaxed and not so scared". Harry nodded warily, and once Severus conjured the vial he drank it down hastily. Moments later, his shoulders relaxed and his shaking ceased.

"That's better" said the potions master. "As I was saying, I am truly sorry for what happened earlier. You see, I was terribly angry at what your relatives told you. They were wrong, Harry. They shouldn't have hurt you in any way, and they shouldn't have been so horribly negative and told you those lies. I didn't want to scare you, so I asked you to leave the room so I could let out my anger without you knowing. Everything in this room is perfectly fixable as you can see."

"So you weren't mad at me?" Harry questioned.

"Not at all" said Severus. "I'm sorry I made you think that way".

"That's okay" said Harry. "You seem nice enough anyway."

Severus couldn't help but be taken aback at that statement. Harry Potter, son of James Potter, thought he seemed 'nice'? The world was going crazy.

"Who's this though?" asked Harry quietly, pointing at the stranger.

"Ah yes, I wondered when we'd get to me. Hello Harry, my name is Remus Lupin, and I went to school with both your parents. We were the best of friends. I'm sorry I came so unexpectedly, although I wasn't sure whether you would be here at all. Let me assure you though, I had nothing to do with the state of your lounge which you witnessed a little while ago".

Harry nodded warily, although inside he was a bit confused. He was terrified of strangers, but this man seemed oddly familiar.

"Why did you come here?" asked Harry.

"Late last night you disappeared from Privet Drive, causing the wizarding world to be very worried" said Remus. "When I found out you had gone, which was this afternoon, I went straight to a man named Albus Dumbledore who's the headmaster of a school you'll attend when you're a bit older, but we'll talk about that later. We were talking about where you might have gone, when I remembered your mother and father showing me, Severus and another man three cottages which were for emergencies. Because we were their three closest friends, they only told us. There's a special magic for all four of us, where if we are in life threatening danger, we are transported here and healed by the magic. I thought I might search each cottage to see if you were in one of them, but here you are".

"Who was the other man you spoke of?" said Harry curiously.

"He used to be our friend, but that was a long time ago" said Remus sadly. "But never mind that. I'm so glad you are okay Harry, everyone was really worried about you".

"That's nice" said Harry dreamily. "I've never had anyone be worried about me before".

"Well you certainly do now" said Remus. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you Harry. I would have raised you as my own son, but there was a terrible complication that got in the way, which didn't allow me too. Can you forgive me?"

"It's okay, you don't need to be forgiven" said Harry reassuringly. "You both seem nice, and I feel like I know you from somewhere but I don't know where".

"For the first year of your life, you lived with your parents" said Severus. "We visited many times".

"Maybe you two could tell me stories about my parents sometime" said Harry, stifling a yawn.

"We would love to Harry" said Remus happily.

"I think Master Harry should be going to bed now" said Acer. "It is late and he is very tired, and hasn't slept since he landed on the beach!"

"Very well, of course" said Severus. "I wonder if there is any guest rooms that Lupin and I could occupy tonight. We're all very tired and could do with a good night's rest."

"Of course sirs, I shall lead Harry to his room, and then show you the guest rooms" said the elf.

"I can't sleep in a bed Acer, I'm not allowed" said Harry. "My Uncle punished me when I asked to sleep in a bed".

"Very well sir" said Acer with a sad smile. "I have an idea".


End file.
